 "Property registrations in Mumbai to touch 11-year high in Nov: Knight Frank")
Mumbai is poised to register its most successful November for property registrations in the last 11 years, driven by rising income levels and a positive outlook on homeownership, according to a Knight Frank India report on Thursday.
According to the property consultant's estimate, Mumbai City or the area under Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expected to witness 9,548 property registrations in November, reflecting a 7 per cent increase compared to the same month last year. This will contribute Rs 697 crore to the state government revenues from stamp duty, up by 2 per cent compared to the same month preceding year.
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“Besides the strong sense of home ownership, rising income levels, stable home loan interest rates coupled with a moderate rise in property prices have contributed to the cause of affordability in Mumbai, a crucial factor that will help sustain the momentum of housing sales in Mumbai,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India.
Builders attribute the rise in property sales to several factors, including the pause in interest rate hikes, incentives offered by real estate developers, and schemes attracting first-time buyers.
According to the report, of the overall registered properties, residential units constitute 80 per cent, and the remaining 20 per cent constitute non-residential assets.
Preferred location in November 2023
According to the report, Central and Western suburbs in the city accounted for over 75 per cent of total property registrations, as these locations are a hotbed for new launches offering a wide range of modern amenities and good connectivity.
Notably, 86 per cent of Western suburb buyers and 85 per cent of Central suburb purchasers prefer their respective micro markets due to familiarity with the location and availability of products aligning with pricing and feature preferences, said Knight Frank India.
"There's a heightened demand for both premium and mid-end categories, particularly in emerging micro-markets like the Kanjurmarg, Vikhroli, Mulund and Dombivli. In our own portfolio, our flagship projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have received the necessary Occupancy Certificates (OC) and have experienced a notable surge in demand," said Lucy Roychoudhury, Head of Sales, Marketing, and CRM of Runwal Group.
In the eleven months of 2023, the city registered 114,464 real estate units, according to Kight Franks' estimates with the highest registration being recorded in March at 13,151 units. During this period the state government added Rs 9,922 crore in its revenue.
“Following a notable 6.5 per cent YoY increase in prime property prices during Q3 2023, Mumbai is anticipated to witness a 5.5 per cent upsurge in prime residential prices in 2024. This surge is primarily attributed to robust housing demand and economic expansion,” said Baijal.
Rise in properties above Rs 1 crore
According to Baijal, the housing demand is amplified by the increasing share of high-value property registrations of Rs 1 crore and above, rising from 51 per cent in the year-to-date November 2020 to 57 per cent in the year-to-date November 2023.
On the other hand, the increase in property prices, combined with a significant 250 basis point rise in the policy repo rate by the RBI in the last two years, has hurt the registration of properties below the Rs 1 crore threshold, the report noted. However, registrations for properties valued at 1 crore and above have shown a relatively limited impact of these changes.